ATC's Solar Power

As an environmentally aware organisation, Aylesbury Town Council is always open to new opportunities to embrace greener ways of living. Since 2009, ATC has been harnessing the power of the sun via a high-tech Solar Panel Array. With this the Town Hall is supplied with a constant supply of green electricity. This is an independent source, and reduces the Council's dependence on the traditional electricity infrastructure, saving CO2 and money.

The array was fitted by Ardenham Energy, a local company who specialise in the installation of renewable energy systems. In August 2010 they upgraded the installation to include a data logger, allowing us to give an up to date reading of the array's performance.

The graphs below demonstrate the genuine environmental savings that have been made.

This graph displays CO2 savings. The bottom axis shows the month in days. The side axis displays CO2 saving in Kg. Sunnier days, when the Solar Panel Array is more active correspond with a larger savings. CO2 contributes to global warming - the more CO2 we save, the better for the environment.

The second graph displays ATC's total energy output. Months of the year are shown along the bottom axis, with total energy in kWh on the side axis.  More energy means more electricity. The more electricity which is produced will result in a bigger financial saving.

Earlier in the year, the Town Council scaled the heights of the Town Hall to check on the status of our Solar Panel Array. We were pleased to see that the panels were all relatively clean, considering the age of the installation, and all were in good working working order. The photo gallery below shows the condition of the panels and their location in relation to the sights of Aylesbury.

The electrical output of the solar panel is of course related to the weather. Overcast days, when the light from the sun must penetrate a cloud layer, produce less power, since some of the energy is prevented from getting through by the clouds. Clear days without clouds produce more power. On a clear night, we have also harvested electricity from moonlight! As you can see in the above graph, the sunnier summer months correlate with more electricity produced. The graphic below shows the BBC's weather observations for Aylesbury - this should roughly match the level of electricity the solar panel is producing.

Financial Benefits
The solar panel is not only an environmental investment, but a financial one too. If we assume a feed in rate of around 12p/kWh, as of the 13/09/2011, the array has generated £3,810.00 since installation. This goes to help reduce ATC's electricity bill and our dependence on the national grid.

For further information on our environmental policies, please visit here. Or look at the Wikipedia entry for more information about Solar Power. Remember to check this page regularly to see the updated figures.